Cù Sith's murmur was quite silent. Amidst the roaring flames, the explosions of Ray's fireballs, and the sudden surge of mana and aura that came from Cù, his low words shouldn't be heard, and they were not. Instead, they were felt.
Beasts and Monsters were as stated before, quite sensible to intent. Being a Demonic Dragon and therefore qualified as a Monster, Ray was also quite sensible. So when Cù muttered those words, the chilling intent that covered the area in that millisecond seemed to completely overwhelm any noise that was traveling in that area.
'What is this? Killing Intent? No that is not it. This is not the intent to kill, this is something more pure, less human.'
As Ray struggled to understand what he was sensing, Cù started to experience the changes that the third howl implied. An illusory green and furry tail, similar to a wolf's, appeared at the lower part of his back, swaying lightly.
His eyes explored the area around him. Due to the increase in mana and aura, his eyes could now see more clearly. Ray was quite an outstanding individual, the mana that each of those fireballs had was minimal, it was quite impressive, how those fireballs compared to the spells of some of the best shamans of his tribe were being cast with such low amounts of mana. If he used more, what could he do? Cù's instincts were divided, he wanted to find out more about his strength but the other part of him reminded him that someone that amazing was dangerous and that Cù shouldn't find himself invincible just because he activated his last howl.
He explored Ray's figure, he seemed to be suspicious of Cù, such instincts were even more advanced than the most experienced veterans of his tribe. How amazing.
Cù once again had to keep himself from falling into an uncontrollable state.
Instead, he focused on Ray's blind spots. Ray seemed quite experienced in certain aspects, in all aspects really, except blind spots. He knew how to handle magic and aura, and he knew about unique affinities and what they can cause, however, he couldn't cover his blind spots?
No that was not true. Ray's blind spots were constantly being covered, however, new ones were being created over and over again, It was as if sometimes he forgot how his own body worked, like operating an old machine that you remember how to use but still is complicated to use in the same way one used to.
'It doesn't matter.' Cù once again willed himself to focus.
He looked attentively at the blind spots that he could find in Ray's stance. It was like playing a game his father used to play with him. He would hide a ball in a bowl and then proceed to switch the bowl with another. He would keep switching until he wouldn't be able to remember where the ball was.
In the end, Cù Sith had become quite good at that kind of game, so he successfully kept up with Ray as he continuously covered his blind spots.
Until he missed one.
Cù did not miss that opportunity and used his unique affinity's third ability to teleport to the blind spot he had found.
In a flash of green and blue, Cù disappeared from Ray's vision, startling him. The scary intent that he had sensed intensified, urging him to turn around and protect himself.
He heard his instincts and turned, just to find Cù preparing to strike.
The world seemed to slow down as Cù once again muttered the name of the ultimate technique of his affinity.
"Soul Reaper Hound!"
His hand shot forward, the green and blue hues of his aura and mana completely overshadowed by the new and chilling red light.
'What is that?'
Ray was fascinated, this unique affinity was truly unique, he had never seen something like this.
'Just how many interesting things did I miss just because their wielders were leagues below me?'
That strange thought crossed his mind.
Cù's hand landed on the chest. It was not a vicious thrust of claws nor a bloodthirsty ripping, it was much more similar to a poke of a sharp object.
Right now, Cù was reaching for Ray's soul, and he had sensed that, however, out of curiosity, he decided to let Cù proceed.
Cù gazed at the image of Ray's soul standing in front of him.
A scenery unfolded before him.
It was bright, resembling a battlefield that had seen countless despair and malice but had finally known peace and hope.
'What kind of place was this before?' Cù subconsciously thought that.
He shouldn't have done that.
As if to respect Cù's wishes the scenery changed. The battlefield was swallowed by darkness and the skies were lit ablaze and in front of him stood a giant figure.
Before Cù could think anything more the figure acted.
R̶̦̳̖͓̝̄͐̅̋͒O̶̢̲̳͖͕̬̓̎̀̀̒̍͛̃̒̈́͑̊̚Ą̸̛̟̼̜̮͚̦͆̊͘R̴̞͙̙̄̀̔̓̐́͆̀̚͠
Cù shivered, his soul shivered. Purple flames swallowed him and he was completely overwhelmed.
He found himself back in reality, Ray's calm eyes staring at his own trembling ones.
Ray had been quite surprised. His soul had changed a lot but he was even more surprised at Cù ability to not only interact with souls but also be capable of seeing their past versions.
"Time to end this, I suppose."
Using his mana, he reached into his gravity affinity, and using space itself as a slingshot he forced Cù away.
He stumbled on the sand. The remaining fear of his encounter with the giant figure and the illusory pain of being burned alive were still overwhelming his senses.
When he came back to his senses he rose from the sand trying to stand up. All of his howls were about to be reset so he needed to make a move, quick.
All that reached his was not a clever plan or idea, but it was Ray's knee instead.
He came at great speeds and delivered a knee to the face. As a follow-up, he used his foot to pin Cù down as he prepared for the final strike.
Flames rotated around his arm, before completely engulfing it. They converged to such high levels that one could only see a brilliant hand made of light.
Said hand rushed forward and struck Cù in the gut, creating a gigantic shockwave.
The sand rose creating what one could call a sand geyser.
Before being dispersed by a tower of spiraling flames.
Once those had dissipated, two figures could be seen. One of them stood tall looking at the fallen one from above. The one who had fallen was Cù. His clothes had been burned along with some of his skin, but he was alive.
"Just what are you?"
This was the question on Cù Sith's mind. He had never met someone like Ray, whose powers seemed to have layers with layers. Just how much power was he hiding? Did he have a chance to begin with?
"There is not a correct answer for that question, I'm afraid, not one that will satisfy you, anyway."
Ray was really satisfied. For the first time after acquiring a new body, he was glad to have lost his strength, if he still had it, this fight wouldn't be a tenth as satisfying as it was. Even then he was still a little disappointed, after all, unlike his body his soul had still been of the same power level as before and he was technically saved by that fact.
"It's a shame that your last ability had something to do with the soul, otherwise we could have more fun."
As Ray said that, Cù couldn't help but chuckle, before clenching his teeth due to the pain.
"Don't worry, I only lost because I messed with stuff that I shouldn't, next time I will win."
Hearing this Ray wasn't offended or triggered, instead, he grinned, a feral smug grin.
"Then do your best and enroll in the academy, I will need someone to pummel to the ground to entertain myself."
Naturally, Ray had no malice towards Cù, and it wasn't like he was such an easy target to pick on. It was mostly to rile Cù up.
"Enroll, huh?"
A similar beastly grin appeared on Cù's face.
"What a good stage for two beasts to hunt, alright, Ray. Let's make this academy our hunting grounds."
Some people say that the best way for two people to grow closer is through conflict, and they are not wrong. Even though Ray and Cù had fought, the result of it was not a loss of any kind but instead a certain understanding of each other.
Cù was someone who sought to achieve his goals in his own way, constantly pursuing his prey, like a wolf.
Ray was the personification of a sleeping dragon, calm and still, until it woke up, incinerating everything around him, like a erupting volcano.
They both gained a certain respect for each other. Not the kind of respect a man gives to another. A respect between beasts.
A Respect Between Monsters.